An epic motion picture! A gay Napoleonic War love story! Ballrooms and battles at sea! Romantic happy endings on the silver screen! And a film that’ll change everything for its stars ... Jason Mirelli can’t play adrenaline-fueled action heroes forever. He’s getting older, plus the action star parts have grown a little thinner since he came out as bisexual. This role could finally let him be seen as a serious dramatic actor, and he needs it to go well -- for his career, and because he’s fallen in love with the story and the chance to tell it. The first problem? He’ll be playing a ship’s captain ... and he hasn’t exactly mentioned his fear of water. The second problem? His co-star: award-winning, overly talkative, annoyingly adorable -- and openly gay – box office idol Colby Kent. Colby’s always loved the novel this film’s based on, and he leapt at the chance to adapt it, now that he has the money and reputation to make it happen. But scars and secrets from his past make filming a love story difficult ... until Jason takes his hand and wakes up all his buried desires. Jason could be everything Colby’s ever wanted: generous and kind, a fantastic partner on set, not to mention those heroic muscles. But Colby just can’t take that chance ... or can he? As their characters fall in love and fight a war, Colby and Jason find themselves falling, too ... and facing the return of their own past demons. But together they just might win ... and write their own love story.

Seaworthy

“I don’t mind being touched,” Colby said lightly. Anything else would break him into pieces. “I especially don’t mind when I know what to expect. In advance. If I really did mind, I’d be entirely in the wrong profession, wouldn’t I?”


“You don’t mind.” Jason’s voice remained low. Deep. Soothing. “That’s not what I asked.”


“You said I didn’t have to talk about it,” Colby said.


“Shit. You’re right. I’m sorry.” Jason pressed fingers between eyebrows, over the bridge of that nose. “Sorry. I’ll stop talking.”


Colby hesitated. Considered Jason’s tone, Jason’s apology. Jason’s insight.


He put his own hand on the ship’s railing. Right where Jason’s had been. “Shall we do this again? You and me?”


Jason looked up, startled. Artificial lighting striped gold through his hair, tiger-lines against the brown; it was lighter than it’d been at that screen test, gilded by the modern equivalent of sailing and sun.


Chapter 16